The fully automated estimation of the 6 degrees of freedom camera motion and the imaged 3D scenario using as the only input the pictures taken by the camera has been a long term aim in the computer vision community. The associated line of research has been known as Structure from Motion (SfM). An intense research effort during the latest decades has produced spectacular advances; the topic has reached a consistent state of maturity and most of its aspects are well known nowadays. 3D vision has immediate applications in many and diverse fields like robotics, videogames and augmented reality; and technological transfer is starting to be a reality. This book describes one of the first systems for sparse point-based 3D reconstruction and egomotion estimation from an image sequence; able to run in real-time at video frame rate and assuming quite weak prior knowledge about camera calibration, motion or scene. Its chapters unify the current perspectives of the robotics and computer vision communities on the 3D vision topic: As usual in robotics sensing, the explicit estimation and propagation of the uncertainty hold a central role in the sequential video processing and is shown to boost the efficiency and performance of the 3D estimation. On the other hand, some of the most relevant topics discussed in SfM by the computer vision scientists are addressed under this probabilistic filtering scheme; namely projective models, spurious rejection, model selection and self-calibration.

"Parallel Kinematics- Type, Kinematics, and Optimal Design "presents the results of 15 year's research on parallel mechanisms and parallel kinematics machines. This book covers the systematic classification of parallel mechanisms (PMs) as well as providing a large number of mechanical architectures of PMs available for use in practical applications. It focuses on the kinematic design of parallel robots. One successful application of parallel mechanisms in the field of machine tools, which is also called parallel kinematics machines, has been the emerging trend in advanced machine tools. The book describes not only the main aspects and important topics in parallel kinematics, but also references novel concepts and approaches, i.e. type synthesis based on evolution, performance evaluation and optimization based on screw theory, singularity model taking into account motion and force transmissibility, and others.
This book is intended for researchers, scientists, engineers and postgraduates or above with interests in robotics and advanced machine tools technology such as parallel kinematics machines (PKMs).
Xinjun Liu and Jinsong Wang, professors, work at The Institute of Manufacturing Engineering, Department of Precision Instruments and Mechanology, Tsinghua University."

The practical task of building a talking robot requires a theory of how natural language communication works. Conversely, the best way to computationally verify a theory of natural language communication is to demonstrate its functioning concretely in the form of a talking robot, the epitome of human-machine communication. To build an actual robot requires hardware that provides appropriate recognition and action interfaces, and because such hardware is hard to develop the approach in this book is theoretical: the author presents an artificial cognitive agent with language as a software system called database semantics (DBS). Because a theoretical approach does not have to deal with the technical difficulties of hardware engineering there is no reason to simplify the system - instead the software components of DBS aim at completeness of function and of data coverage in word form recognition, syntactic-semantic interpretation and inferencing, leaving the procedural implementation of elementary concepts for later.

In this book the author first examines the universals of natural language and explains the Database Semantics approach. Then in Part I he examines the following natural language communication issues: using external surfaces; the cycle of natural language communication; memory structure; autonomous control; and learning. In Part II he analyzes the coding of content according to the aspects: semantic relations of structure; simultaneous amalgamation of content; graph-theoretical considerations; computing perspective in dialogue; and computing perspective in text. The book ends with a concluding chapter, a bibliography and an index.

The book will be of value to researchers, graduate students and engineers in the areas of artificial intelligence and robotics, in particular those who deal with natural language processing.

A leading artificial intelligence researcher lays out a new approach to AI that will enable us to coexist successfully with increasingly intelligent machines In the popular imagination, superhuman artificial intelligence is an approaching tidal wave that threatens not just jobs and human relationships, but civilization itself. Conflict between humans and machines is seen as inevitable and its outcome all too predictable. In this groundbreaking book, distinguished AI researcher Stuart Russell argues that this scenario can be avoided, but only if we rethink AI from the ground up. Russell begins by exploring the idea of intelligence in humans and in machines. He describes the near-term benefits we can expect, from intelligent personal assistants to vastly accelerated scientific research, and outlines the AI breakthroughs that still have to happen before we reach superhuman AI. He also spells out the ways humans are already finding to misuse AI, from lethal autonomous weapons to viral sabotage. If the predicted breakthroughs occur and superhuman AI emerges, we will have created entities far more powerful than ourselves. How can we ensure they never, ever, have power over us? Russell suggests that we can rebuild AI on a new foundation, according to which machines are designed to be inherently uncertain about the human preferences they are required to satisfy. Such machines would be humble, altruistic, and committed to pursue our objectives, not theirs. This new foundation would allow us to create machines that are provably deferential and provably beneficial.

It is at least two decades since the conventional robotic manipulators have become a common manufacturing tool for different industries, from automotive to pharmaceutical. The proven benefits of utilizing robotic manipulators for manufacturing in different industries motivated scientists and researchers to try to extend the applications of robots to many other areas by inventing several new types of robots other than conventional manipulators. The new types of robots can be categorized in two groups; redundant (and hyper-redundant) manipulators, and mobile (ground, marine, and aerial) robots. These groups of robots, known as advanced robots, have more freedom for their mobility, which allows them to do tasks that the conventional manipulators cannot do.

Engineers have taken advantage of the extra mobility of the advanced robots to make them work in constrained environments, ranging from limited joint motions for redundant (or hyper-redundant) manipulators to obstacles in the way of mobile (ground, marine, and aerial) robots.

Since these constraints usually depend on the work environment, they are variable. Engineers have had to invent methods to allow the robots to deal with a variety of constraints automatically. A robot that is equipped with those methods is called an Autonomous Robot.

Autonomous Robots: Kinematics, Path Planning, and Control covers the kinematics and dynamic modeling/analysis of Autonomous Robots, as well as the methods suitable for their control. The text is suitable for mechanical and electrical engineers who want to familiarize themselves with methods of modeling/analysis/control that have been proven efficient through research.

The book discusses new algorithms capable of searching for, tracking, mapping and providing a visualization of invisible substances. It reports on the realization of a bacterium-inspired robotic controller that can be used by an agent to search for any environmental spatial function such as temperature or pollution. Using the parameters of a mathematical model, the book shows that it is possible to control the exploration, exploitation and sensitivity of the agent. This feature sets the work apart from the usual method of applying the bacterium behavior to robotic agents. The book also discusses how a computationally tractable multi-agent robotic controller was developed and used to track as well as provide a visual map of a spatio-temporal distribution of a substance. On the one hand, this book provides biologists and ecologists with a basis to perform simulations related to how individual organisms respond to spatio-temporal factors in their environment as well as predict and analyze the behavior of organisms at a population level. On the other hand, it offers robotic engineers practical and fresh insights into the development of computationally tractable algorithms for spatial exploratory and mapping robots. It also allows a more general audience to gain an understanding of the design of computational intelligence algorithms for autonomous physical systems.

This book contains an edited collection of eighteen contributions on soft and hard computing techniques and their applications to autonomous robotic systems. Each contribution has been exclusively written for this volume by a leading researcher. The volume demonstrates the various ways that the soft computing and hard computing techniques can be used in different integrated manners to better develop autonomous robotic systems that can perform various tasks of vision, perception, cognition, thinking, pattern recognition, decision-making, and reasoning and control, amongst others. Each chapter of the book is self-contained and points out the future direction of research.

"It is a must reading for students and researchers interested in exploring the potentials of the fascinating field that will form the basis for the design of the intelligent machines of the future"
(Madan M. Gupta)

A manipulator, or 'robot', consists of a series of bodies (links) connected by joints to form a spatial mechanism. Usually the links are connected serially to form an open chain. The joints are either revolute (rotary) or prismatic (telescopic), various combinations of the two giving a wide va riety of possible configurations. Motive power is provided by pneumatic, hydraulic or electrical actuation of the joints. The robot arm is distinguished from other active spatial mechanisms by its reprogrammability. Therefore, the controller is integral to any de scription of the arm. In contrast with many other controlled processes (e. g. batch reactors), it is possible to model the dynamics of a ma nipulator very accurately. Unfortunately, for practical arm designs, the resulting models are complex and a considerable amount of research ef fort has gone into improving their numerical efficiency with a view to real time solution 32,41,51,61,77,87,91]. In recent years, improvements in electric motor technology coupled with new designs, such as direct-drive arms, have led to a rapid increase in the speed and load-carrying capabilities of manipulators. However, this has meant that the flexibility of the nominally rigid links has become increasingly significant. Present generation manipulators are limited to a load-carrying capacity of typically 5-10% of their own weight by the requirement of rigidity. For example, the Cincinatti-Milicron T3R3 robot weighs more than 1800 kg but has a maximum payload capacity of 23 kg."

Bionics evolved in the 1960s as a framework to pursue the development of artificial systems based on the study of biological systems. Numerous disciplines and technologies, including artificial intelligence and learningdevices, information processing, systems architecture and control, perception, sensory mechanisms, and bioenergetics, contributed to bionics research. This volume is based on a NATO Advanced Research Workshop within the Special Programme on Sensory Systems for Robotic Control, held in Il Ciocco, Italy, in June 1989. A consensus emerged at the workshop, and is reflected in the book, on the value of learning from nature in order to derive guidelines for the design of intelligent machines which operate in unstructured environments. The papers in the book are grouped into seven chapters: vision and dynamic systems, hands and tactile perception, locomotion, intelligent motor control, design technologies, interfacing robots to nervous systems, and robot societies and self-organization.

This book presents the singular configurations associated with a robot mechanism, together with robust methods for their computation, interpretation, and avoidance path planning. Having such methods is essential as singularities generally pose problems to the normal operation of a robot, but also determine the workspaces and motion impediments of its underlying mechanical structure. A distinctive feature of this volume is that the methods are applicable to nonredundant mechanisms of general architecture, defined by planar or spatial kinematic chains interconnected in an arbitrary way. Moreover, singularities are interpreted as silhouettes of the configuration space when seen from the input or output spaces. This leads to a powerful image that explains the consequences of traversing singular configurations, and all the rich information that can be extracted from them. The problems are solved by means of effective branch-and-prune and numerical continuation methods that are of independent interest in themselves. The theory can be put into practice as well: a companion web page gives open access to implementations of the algorithms and the corresponding input files. Using them, the reader can gain hands-on experience on the topic, or analyse new mechanisms beyond those examined in the text. Overall, the book contributes new tools for robot design, and constitutes a single reference source of knowledge that is otherwise dispersed in the literature.

Underwater Robots reports on the latest progress in underwater robotics. In spite of its importance, the ocean is generally overlooked, since we focus more of our attention on land and atmospheric issues. We have not yet been able to explore the full depths of the ocean and its resources. The deep oceans range between 19000 to 36000 feet. At a mere 33-foot depth, the pressure is twice the normal atmospheric pressure of 29.4 psi. This obstacle, compounded with other complex issues due to the unstructured and hazardous environment, makes it difficult to travel in the ocean even though today's technologies allow humans to land on the moon. Only recently, we discovered by using manned submersibles that a large amount of carbon dioxide comes from the sea-floor and that extraordinary groups of organisms live in hydrothermal vent areas. On March 24, 1995 Kaiko (a remotely operated vehicle) navigated the deepest region of the ocean, the Mariana Trough. This vehicle successfully dived to a depth of 33000 feet and instantly showed scenes from the trench through a video camera. New tools like this enable us to gain knowledge of mysterious places. However, extensive use of manned submersibles and remotely operated vehicles is limited to a few applications because of very high operational costs, operator fatigue and safety issues. In spite of these hindrances, the demand for advanced underwater robot technologies is growing and will eventually arrive at fully autonomous, specialized, reliable underwater robotic vehicles. Underwater Robots is an edited volume of peer-reviewed original research comprising thirteen invited contributions by leading researchers. This research work has also been published as a special issue of Autonomous Robots (Volume 3, Numbers 2 and 3).

Reviews different machine learning and deep learning techniques with a biomedical perspective Provides the relevant case studies that demonstrate applicability of different AI techniques Explain different kinds of inputs like various image modalities, biomedical signals types, etc. Covers the latest trends of AI-based biomedical domains including IoT, drug discovery, biomechanics, robotics, electronic health records, etc. Discusses the research challenges and opportunities in AI and biomedical domain

In many computer vision applications, objects have to be learned and recognized in images or image sequences. This book presents new probabilistic hierarchical models that allow an efficient representation of multiple objects of different categories, scales, rotations, and views. The idea is to exploit similarities between objects and object parts in order to share calculations and avoid redundant information. Furthermore inference approaches for fast and robust detection are presented. These new approaches combine the idea of compositional and similarity hierarchies and overcome limitations of previous methods. Besides classical object recognition the book shows the use for detection of human poses in a project for gait analysis. The use of activity detection is presented for the design of environments for ageing, to identify activities and behavior patterns in smart homes. In a presented project for parking spot detection using an intelligent vehicle, the proposed approaches are used to hierarchically model the environment of the vehicle for an efficient and robust interpretation of the scene in real-time.

This is a book about how management and control decisions are made by persons who collaborate and possibly use the support of an information system. The decision is the result of human conscious activities aiming at choosing a course of action for attaining a certain objective (or a set of objectives). The act of collaboration implies that several entities who work together and share responsibilities to jointly plan, implement and evaluate a program of activities to achieve the common goals. The book is intended to present a balanced view of the domain to include both well-established concepts and a selection of new results in the domains of methods and key technologies. It is meant to answer several questions, such as: a) "How are evolving the business models towards the ever more collaborative schemes?"; b) "What is the role of the decision-maker in the new context?" c) "What are the basic attributes and trends in the domain of decision-supporting information systems?"; d) "Which are the basic methods to aggregate the individual preferences?" e)"What is the impact of modern information and communication technologies on the design and usage of decision support systems for groups of people?".

This book presents some of the latest applications of new theories based on the concept of paraconsistency and correlated topics in informatics, such as pattern recognition (bioinformatics), robotics, decision-making themes, and sample size. Each chapter is self-contained, and an introductory chapter covering the logic theoretical basis is also included. The aim of the text is twofold: to serve as an introductory text on the theories and applications of new logic, and as a textbook for undergraduate or graduate-level courses in AI. Today AI frequently has to cope with problems of vagueness, incomplete and conflicting (inconsistent) information. One of the most notable formal theories for addressing them is paraconsistent (paracomplete and non-alethic) logic.

"Sense of Touch and its Rendering" presents a unique and interdisciplinary approach highlighting the field of haptic research from a neuropsychological as well as a technological point of view. This edited book is the outcome of the TOUCH-HapSys European research project and provides an important contribution towards a new generation of high-fidelity haptic display technologies. The book is structured in two parts: A. Fundamental Psychophysical and Neuropsychological Research and B. Technology and Applications. The two parts are not however separated, and the many connections and synergies between the two complementary domains of research are highlighted in the text. The eleven chapters discuss the recent advances in the study of human haptic (kinaesthetic, tactile, temperature) and multimodal (visual, auditory, haptic) perception mechanisms. Besides the theoretical advancement, the contributions survey the state of the art in the field, report a number of practical applications to real systems, and discuss possible future developments.

The book gives a comprehensive overview of the state-of-the-art research and engineering in theory and application of Lattice Automata in design and control of autonomous Robots. Automata and robots share the same notional meaning. Automata (originated from the latinization of the Greek word " ") as self-operating autonomous machines invented from ancient years can be easily considered the first steps of robotic-like efforts. Automata are mathematical models of Robots and also they are integral parts of robotic control systems. A Lattice Automaton is a regular array or a collective of finite state machines, or automata. The Automata update their states by the same rules depending on states of their immediate neighbours. In the context of this book, Lattice Automata are used in developing modular reconfigurable robotic systems, path planning and map exploration for robots, as robot controllers, synchronisation of robot collectives, robot vision, parallel robotic actuators. All chapters are written in an accessible manner and lavishly illustrated. The book will help computer and robotic scientists and engineers to understand mechanisms of decentralised functioning of robotic collectives and to design future and emergent reconfigurable, parallel and distributed robotic systems.

This authoritative reference work will provide readers with a complete overview of artificial intelligence (AI), including its historic development and current status, existing and projected AI applications, and present and potential future impact on the United States and the world. Some people believe that artificial intelligence (AI) will revolutionize modern life in ways that improve human existence. Others say that the promise of AI is overblown. Still others contend that AI applications could pose a grave threat to the economic security of millions of people by taking their jobs and otherwise rendering them "obsolete"-or, even worse, that AI could actually spell the end of the human race. This volume will help users understand the reasons AI development has both spirited defenders and alarmed critics; explain theories and innovations like Moore's Law, mindcloning, and Technological Singularity that drive AI research and debate; and give readers the information they need to make their own informed judgment about the promise and peril of this technology. All of this coverage is presented using language and terminology accessible to a lay audience. Introduction explaining the historical evolution of AI Chronology of important AI-related events Authoritative entries on leading pioneers, entrepreneurs, and thinkers; AI concepts and theories; AI's potential impact on different facets of society; and major movies and other cultural touchstones exploring AI technology

The present book includes a set of selected papers from the fourth "International Conference on Informatics in Control Automation and Robotics" (ICINCO 2009), held in Milan, Italy, from 2 to 5 July 2009. The conference was organized in three simultaneous tracks: "Intelligent Control Systems and Optimization", "Robotics and Automation" and "Systems Modeling, Signal Processing and Control". The book is based on the same structure. ICINCO received 365 paper submissions, not including those of workshops, from 55 countries, in all continents. After a double blind paper review performed by the Program Committee only 34 submissions were accepted as full papers and thus selected for oral presentation, leading to a full paper acceptance ratio of 9%. Additional papers were accepted as short papers and posters. A further refinement was made after the conference, based also on the assessment of presentation quality, so that this book includes the extended and revised versions of the very best papers of ICINCO 2009. Commitment to high quality standards is a major concern of ICINCO that will be maintained in the next editions of this conference, including not only the stringent paper acceptance ratios but also the quality of the program committee, keynote lectures, workshops and logistics.

The atomic force microscope (AFM) has been successfully used to perform nanorobotic manipulation operations on nanoscale entities such as particles, nanotubes, nanowires, nanocrystals, and DNA since 1990s. There have been many progress on modeling, imaging, teleoperated or automated control, human-machine interfacing, instrumentation, and applications of AFM based nanorobotic manipulation systems in literature. This book aims to include all of such state-of-the-art progress in an organized, structured, and detailed manner as a reference book and also potentially a textbook in nanorobotics and any other nanoscale dynamics, systems and controls related research and education. Clearly written and well-organized, this text introduces designs and prototypes of the nanorobotic systems in detail with innovative principles of three-dimensional manipulation force microscopy and parallel imaging/manipulation force microscopy.

The first Workshop on Mechanisms, Transmissions and Applications -- MeTrApp-2011 was organized by the Mechatronics Department at the Mechanical Engineering Faculty, "Politehnica" University of Timisoara, Romania, under the patronage of the IFToMM Technical Committees Linkages and Mechanical Controls and Micromachines. The workshop brought together researchers and students who work in disciplines associated with mechanisms science and offered a great opportunity for scientists from all over the world to present their achievements, exchange innovative ideas and create solid international links, setting the trend for future developments in this important and creative field. The topics treated in this volume are mechanisms and machine design, mechanical transmissions, mechatronic and biomechanic applications, computational and experimental methods, history of mechanism and machine science and teaching methods.

The physical processes which initiate and maintain motion have been a major concern of serious investigation throughout the evolution of scientific thought. As early as the fifth century B. C. questions regarding motion were presented as touchstones for the most fundamental concepts about existence. Such wide ranging philosophical issues are beyond the scope of this book, however, consider the paradox of the flying arrow attri buted to Zeno of Elea: An arrow is shot from point A to point B requiring a sequence of time instants to traverse the distance. Now, for any time instant, T, of the sequence the arrow is at a position, Pi' and at Ti+! the i arrow is at Pi+i> with Pi ::I-P+* Clearly, each Ti must be a singular time i 1 unit at which the arrow is at rest at Pi because if the arrow were moving during Ti there would be a further sequence, Til' of time instants required for the arrow to traverse the smaller distance. Now, regardless of the level to which this recursive argument is applied, one is left with the flight of the arrow comprising a sequence of positions at which the arrow is at rest. The original intent of presenting this paradox has been interpreted to be as an argument against the possibility of individuated objects moving in space.

In the past decade a critical mass of work that uses fuzzy logic for autonomous vehicle navigation has been reported. Unfortunately, reports of this work are scattered among conference, workshop, and journal publications that belong to different research communities (fuzzy logic, robotics, artificial intelligence, intelligent control) and it is therefore not easily accessible either to the new comer or to the specialist. As a result, researchers in this area may end up reinventing things while being unaware of important existing work. We believe that research and applications based on fuzzy logic in the field of autonomous vehicle navigation have now reached a sufficient level of maturity, and that it should be suitably reported to the largest possible group of interested practitioners, researches, and students. On these grounds, we have endeavored to collect some of the most representative pieces of work in one volume to be used as a reference. Our aim was to provide a volume which is more than "yet another random collection of papers," and gives the reader some added value with respect to the individual papers. In order to achieve this goal we have aimed at: * Selecting contributions which are representative of a wide range of prob lems and solutions and which have been validated on real robots; and * Setting the individual contributions in a clear framework, that identifies the main problems of autonomous robotics for which solutions based on fuzzy logic have been proposed.

Robot intelligence has become a major focus of intelligent robotics. Recent innovation in computational intelligence including fuzzy learning, neural networks, evolutionary computation and classical Artificial Intelligence provides sufficient theoretical and experimental foundations for enabling robots to undertake a variety of tasks with reasonable performance. This book reflects the recent advances in the field from an advanced knowledge processing perspective; there have been attempts to solve knowledge based information explosion constraints by integrating computational intelligence in the robotics context.